By the second week of March, the phone at a small accounting firm rarely stops. One client wants to know if you got the brokerage statement she uploaded on Sunday night. Another wants to know where his refund is. A new caller asks whether you do returns with rental property and what that costs. Every call pulls a preparer away from a return, and the ones that go to voicemail get returned at 6 p.m., if at all. An AI receptionist won't prepare anyone's taxes. It can take many of those calls off your team from late January to the April deadline, and it can do that without ever touching client data.
What clients call about from January to April
Tax season calls tend to fall into a handful of groups. Here is what an AI receptionist can handle on its own and what should still reach a person.
| The call | What the AI receptionist can do | What goes to a person |
|---|---|---|
| "What do I need to bring?" "How do I upload?" | Read out your document checklist and text the link to your upload portal | Portal lockouts and password resets |
| "Did you get my documents?" | Take the details and pass them on | Confirming what arrived |
| Booking a prep appointment or a drop-off time | Check your calendar, book it, text a confirmation | Changes to an existing appointment |
| "Is my return done?" | Share your general turnaround, take the message | Anything about a specific return |
| "Where's my refund?" | Explain the IRS refund tracker and text the link | Refunds that are far outside the IRS timeline |
| "Can I get an extension?" | Explain your extension policy and fee | The decision, and anything about what the client owes |
| An IRS or state letter | Take the details, flag it for your team | The response |
| New client questions | Answer what you do, your fees and if you're taking new clients; book a consultation; text your intake form | Engagement decisions |
| Invoices and payment | Text the link to your payment page | Disputes and payment plans |
Refund and extension questions deserve a note, because they're the easiest to answer well. The IRS says refund status is available in its Where's My Refund tool about 24 hours after a current-year return is e-filed, and that people who e-file can generally expect their refund about three weeks after filing. On extensions, the IRS is clear that an extension gives more time to file, not more time to pay, and Form 4868 moves the individual filing deadline to October 15. If you add those facts to your agent's knowledge in your firm's own words, it can answer the question and text the IRS link, and your staff never hear about it.
A status note for "Is my return done?"
Your AI receptionist can't see inside your tax software, so it can't tell a client whether their return is done. It doesn't need to for many of these calls. Clients mainly want to know that they're in the queue and roughly when to expect news.
Put a short, plain status note in ModPhone's Supplemental Company Information, which the agent uses ahead of everything else it knows. For example: "We are currently finishing returns for clients whose documents arrived before March 1. We'll email you when yours is ready to review." Update it every week or two. The client gets a real answer, and the preparer doesn't lose ten minutes looking up a file.
When a caller still needs something specific, the agent takes their name and what they need, and the call summary goes to your team by email. Calls that need follow-up, such as a callback request or a question the agent couldn't answer, also land in a Needs attention list, so a busy week doesn't swallow them.
Keep client data out of the agent
Tax preparers carry a real duty here. The FTC lists tax preparation firms among the businesses covered by its Safeguards Rule, and the IRS reminds preparers that federal law requires a written data security plan.
The simplest control is to keep client information out of the AI receptionist entirely. Its knowledge should be about your firm: your hours, fees, checklists, deadlines and policies. Anything the agent knows, it may say to a caller, so client names, balances and return details never belong there.
A few more settings worth making:
- Add a rule to Core Instructions: "Never ask for a Social Security number, bank details or tax amounts. Do not give tax advice. For anything about a client's own return, take a message for their preparer."
- Leave audio recording off unless you need it. It's off by default in ModPhone; written transcripts are always saved, so you still have a record of every call.
- Give teammates the lowest access they need. Viewers can read calls but can't change settings.
- Know how returning callers are handled. If a caller asks about an earlier conversation, ModPhone texts a one-time code to the number they're calling from and only discusses that history once they read it back.
Set it up before the rush
Do this in December or early January, while the phones are still quiet.
- Add your website, then upload a one-page tax season sheet: the document checklist, how to upload, your fee ranges, key deadlines and your extension policy.
- Put your season hours in Supplemental Company Information, such as Saturday hours through April 15.
- Create appointment types with realistic lengths, for example a one-hour prep meeting and a 15-minute drop-off, and set the hours you'll take bookings.
- Add departments using the words clients say: "billing," "payroll," "bookkeeping," or a preparer's name.
- Turn on waterfall routing so transfers ring your team in order and the person who answers presses 1 to accept. That keeps client calls out of personal voicemail. Add the callback offer for when nobody's free.
- Set up alerts: call summaries by email to the front desk, text alerts to the partner on duty, and keyword alerts for phrases like "IRS letter," "audit," "levy" and "penalty."
- Forward busy and no-answer calls from your main line. In the peak weeks, if the desk is swamped, switch to forwarding every call.
- Call it yourself and ask the ten questions you hear most in March.
Clients who prefer Spanish or another language can talk to it in their own language. ModPhone speaks 30+ languages and switches mid-call.
After April 15
The calls don't stop; they change. Extension season runs to October 15, and the questions shift to "Did you file my extension?" and "When will you get to mine?" Update your Supplemental note the week after the deadline, adjust your appointment types, and move forwarding back to missed calls only if the desk can keep up. The agent keeps answering after hours all year, including the evening a client opens an IRS letter after work and wants to talk to someone right away.
More on the setup for firms like yours is on our tax and accounting page, and what to teach your AI receptionist before it goes live has the full knowledge checklist.
Common questions
Can an AI receptionist answer tax questions?
It can answer questions about your firm and general facts you give it, such as your fees, deadlines, document checklist and how the IRS refund tracker works. It should not give tax advice or discuss a client's return. In ModPhone you set that boundary with a rule in Core Instructions, and those calls become messages for the preparer.
Can an AI receptionist tell a client whether their return has been filed?
Not by looking it up. ModPhone doesn't connect to your tax software, so it can't check a specific return. It can share a general status note you write, such as how far along you are in the queue, and take a message so the preparer can follow up.
Is an AI receptionist safe for client confidentiality?
It can be, if you keep client data out of it. Give the agent only firm information, add a rule that it never asks for Social Security numbers or bank details, leave audio recording off unless you need it, and limit who on your team can read call transcripts. Returning callers must verify with a texted code before any earlier conversation is discussed.
Can an AI receptionist book tax appointments?
Yes. ModPhone connects to Google Calendar or Outlook, checks your real availability, books the appointment type the client needs and texts them a confirmation to reply to. You control the appointment types, their lengths and the hours it will book.
Can it take calls from clients who speak Spanish?
Yes. ModPhone detects the caller's language and answers in it, in 30+ languages, and can switch languages mid-call. You don't need to write a separate Spanish version of your knowledge.
Before the phones start ringing
This week, list the ten questions your front desk answered most last March, and write your firm's answer to each in plain sentences. That list is most of your agent's knowledge. Then try the demo on your firm's website and ask it those questions.